Other Side of the Gate
by KosmikQuixotic
Summary: <html><head></head>Arden and her family are in Alaska on winter break when Arden gets pulled through the Gate into Amestris. (This is sort of a self-insert, except Arden isn't me) Note: Arden is my OC from Another Life, but know that these characters have had different experiences, and are different people. -Temporary Hiatus-</html>


**-*Note* _THIS STORY IS ON HIATUS UNTIL I FINISH_** Another Life-

**Hello there! I'm taking my OC Arden from Another Life and using her again here. If you have read Another Life, please note that Arden is a very different person there. She lost everything, and hardened herself, building barriers and masks. Here you will see her when she's fourteen. She's happy, and carefree, but still anime obsessed :D**

**If you haven't read Another Life, you can just ignore that. This is basically a self-insert, except that Arden is not me. Not at all. She shares some traits with my older sister when she's in Another Life but beyond that, she isn't really based off of anyone. So not quite a self insert, but carries the plot -sort of- of one. Okay then, read away.**

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><p>The blaring tones of my alarm clock cut through the thick veil of sleep. Without opening my eyes, I reach over and press random buttons until the noise stops.<p>

I blink open my eyes to look at the time.

4:30A.M.

_Why the f- oh._

"Unng" I groan.

I need to finish packing. It's winter break, and my lovely mother thought it'd be 'fun' to go on a family trip. To Alaska. Like, we live in Minnesota, we get enough cold.

I sit up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. Rubbing my bleary eyes, I stumble to my bathroom. I turn on the faucet and splash the cold water in my face.

I stare at myself in the mirror. My pupils are dialated, only thin strips of grey to represent my irises. My long red hair is in a knot on top of my head. The everpresent bags under my eyes are more defined.

I pull the hairtie out of the tangle mass of hair atop my head, and comb out the largest knots with my fingers. Then I brush it out until it's flat and smooth against my back, reaching my waist.

If I admit pride in anything, it's my hair. I've been growing it out since I was really little, and honestly, it wasn't easy. I have a certain routine to keep my hair soft and smooth. The longer your hair is, the harder it is to get the replenishing oils from you scalp to the ends. For awhile, it stopped growing, and I had to take some weird vitamins to make it start again.

I brush my teeth for exactly 2 minutes, and spit the foam into the sink, cringing as minty saliva trails down my chin. I wipe it off with my threadbare nightshirt, and rinse out my mouth,

I go back to my room to change, grabbing a red t-shirt from my closet, the front says "I'm not LAZY, I just really enjoy doing nothing". I unfold a pair of patched jeans with chains from my dresser, clean underwear, a black tank top, and a bra.

I pull off the giant nightshirt, and put on my underclothes. I shimmy into the jeans, and slip the red shirt over my head, pulling one of the sleeves aside, leaving my left shoulder exposed.

I sit down in front of my full length mirror, and part my hair into two sections. I take the smaller section over my left shoulder, and do a braid, leaving the end unbound. I leave the rest of my hair to lie flat on my back. I take my glasses off of the nightstand. Black, with thick plastic rims, screaming nerd. With my new braces, I'm nailing the geeky look. I really don't mind, it looks cute on some people.

I turn on my iPod and let music flood the room. Taking my half-empty suitcase out from under my bed, I dance around the room, opening drawers, and pulling things off shelves, studying the packing list attached to my clipboard.

I pause for a moment when the song changes, letting a grin spread over my face. I sing along to the Japanese lyrics of the Fullmetal Alchemist theme song.

I go over to the jewlery plate on the shelve behind my bed. I pick up the flamel necklace that my best friend Lizzie had given me for my birthday, and clasp it around my neck.

I sit down on my bed, staring at the clock in contemplation. It's 5:45 now, and we're leaving at noon.

I've been packing for awhile. Time for a break. I pull my laptop out of it's bag and wait for it to start up. I smile again, the music having inspired me, I'm going to watch FMA. After the page loads, I start from episode one.

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><p>Alaska is cold. Very, very cold. We'd arrived at my uncle's place about and hour ago, and I'm unpacking my bags in the guest room assigned to me.<p>

My uncle basically lives in seclusion. He moved here to Alaska after my aunt died. It's sad to see him so broken. He used to be such a fun, interactive guy. He's Scottish, like my mother, and he taught me how to copy his accent once. It's fun to do, and he says that mine is perfect, especially after having grown up with my mother's.

When I finish putting my things away, my mother walks in.

"Put on your hiking boots, Arden! We're going for a walk!" My mother says, upbeat.

I sigh and nod. "I'll be out in a minute."

I pull on a black sweater over my red shirt, then a second, grey sweater, arm warmers, and my winter coat. I grab an extra pair of thick wool socks, tug on my leg warmers, and lace up my winter boots. Then I don my woolen hat and a pair of earmuffs, twist a scarf around my mouth and nose, and pull on thin green gloves. Over them, I tug on my thick winter mittens with my teeth.

When I've decided that I am sufficiently bundled up, I exit my room and trot to the kitchen.

"All ready?" My mother chirps.

I grunt. "I guess."

"Mmhmm." says my father, about as enthusiastic as me.

"Now Arden, you can wander off, but don't go too far, okay?"

"Yes, Mother" I nod.

"Let's go!" she exclaims.

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><p>We've probably walked a mile or two, when all of the sudden I am consumed with the overpowering need to empty me bladder.<p>

"Mom, I need to pee."

"I'm just gonna walk down that hill, mkay? Don't look!"

"Okay, Arden. Be careful, sweetie!"

"Mmhmm."

I walk down the slope, and keep my business as breif as possible, quickly pulling my pants back up as soon as I finish. I kick snow over the disgusting yellow patch, and go to the left of it. I'm walking back up the slope when I hear a strange noise. I step forward tentatively, and fall into a deep crevasse. I barely have time to scream before I make impact with a snow bank.

I stare up at the sky, impossibly far away. I can't climb out. I squeeze my eyes shut, and stand up. It's really warm in the cavern, so I pull off all of my winter stuff, leaving myself with my boots, the thin black sweater, and hat, which I pull off when my ears get warm. It's like a furnace down here. It shouldn't be so hot. I take off my sweater.

I continue wandering through the cave, until I come across a room that makes my heart stop. Carved into the ceiling, the floor, and each of the walls, are massive arrays. They look.. alchemical. The arrays even spill out into the bigger area I'm in. I hop up into the room. In the center is a pedstal, with a glowing red stone. It's beautiful, faceted, imperfect and perfect at the same time.

I reach out my hand to touch it, and the arrays light up.

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><p><strong>For future notice the 'Knowledge' is what Arden learns from the Truth. Having the Truth of everything in your head all at once would probably make your brain explode, so Arden can call upon the Knowledge at will, and it grants her access to everything there is to know about a certain topic. However, Truth moderates Knowledge, because Knowledge is Power and Power comes at a Price. By the way, the words don't really have any extra meaning behind the capitalizations, it just sort of emphasizes things. Like crazy with a capital K. :P<strong>

****-*Note* _THIS STORY IS ON HIATUS UNTIL I FINISH_** Another Life-**


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